The last American Airlines flight out of Miami International Airport before the airport closed Friday has landed at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. It was an unscheduled emergency flight for airline employees, their families and anyone one else who wanted to get out of Hurricane Irma's path.
"It was nerve-wracking," said evacuee Nancy Cordova, holdng back tears. "I'm a little teary. I'm relieved. It's a lot. It's a lot. This is really serious."
Earlier in the day, people scrambled to catch flights out of Florida to anywhere they could.
"I was getting ready to hunker down and ride out the storm," said evacuee Maria Velasco, as she waited for her bags at D/FW Airport with her 6-year-old daughter. "I said, 'Get me a flight anywhere, two seats anywhere,' and they got me a flight to Dallas for $99."
“We got there four hours early this morning," said Jacquelyn Mondari, of Dallas, who arrived from Miami at D/FW Airport. "So we got up and left for the airport, got there at 5:30 a.m. for a 9:15 flight.”
“There were hundreds maybe thousands of people there just sitting there, laying there sleeping,” said Thad Shultz, of Dallas
Shultz also arrived from Miami and said he'd been there all night waiting to fly standby or "whatever the case was.”
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“I’m kissing the ground here as soon as I get back to the house, absolutely,” said Shutlz.
John and Jody Tiddark, of Forney, waited for their granddaughter Shay to arrive home on the same flight from a visit to Miami.
“Her grandmother has been so nervous this whole time, said John Tiddark.
They embraced their granddaughter when she finally arrived at baggage claim.
“Terrifying,” said their granddaughter, Shay Wiley. “I couldn’t get a flight, and they got cancelled last minute, so it was pretty difficult to find anything.”
“We’re so happy, so happy for her to be home,” said Shay’s grandmother.
“I’ve been trying for days to get here,” said Fort Lauderdale’s Delana Lahue, who will stay with family in Granbury.
“I’m just so happy to be here,” said Lahue. “So happy I finally got on a plane I wasn’t going to celebrate until it lifted off and when it did I said all the way here I said thank you God.”
The last American Airlines flight from Miami was scheduled to arrive D/FW at 8:15 p.m.
